Social, Emotional, Behavioral CEU Courses for SLPs

An introduction to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a modern evidence-based counseling approach, is provided in this course. Research support for ACT is discussed, and case studies to illustrate how ACT techniques can help patients and their families with the psychosocial consequences of living with communication disorders are presented.

This course builds on course 10193, “Executive Functioning: Intervention Principles and Strategies for School-Based SLPs,” and extends participants' knowledge base to encompass more advanced concepts and approaches for scaffolding executive function (EF). Specifically, behaviors that signal a need for intervention and strategies that target social and academic impacts of EF difficulties are described.

Developmental trauma and its overlapping and differentiating diagnostic criteria are described in this course. A profile that helps identify dysregulated behaviors and select appropriate strategies is shared. Suggestions for training families, educators, and other professionals are also provided.

Pragmatic and social cognition impairments following brain injuries are described in this course. Assessments, interventions, and the impact of deficits on personal and work relationships post-rehabilitation are discussed.

The basics of trauma, including concepts of polyvagal theory, and its impacts on delivery of care are described in this course. Essential principles of trauma-informed care and practical strategies to create a safe, empathetic environment and effectively support clients who have experienced trauma are discussed. Self-care techniques that can be used to improve professional resilience are also presented.

Adolescent brain changes during puberty - the pruning effect that helps the brain become more specialized - are highlighted in this course. The activation and deactivation of different brain areas and the impact of these changes on behaviors and participation in life tasks are described. The relevance of this information to assessment and intervention planning is also discussed.

Children learn to read through play and language-rich environments well before they are taught the first letter. However, as play is disappearing, children are entering school without critical skills necessary for academic success. Connections between play, literacy and academic readiness and strategies for facilitating play and language-rich environments are discussed in this course.

Neurodiversity, neurodivergence, and neurodiversity (ND)-affirming approaches are discussed in this course. Strengths-based assessment, goals and supports that characterize ND-affirming approaches are described. Case scenarios are presented to exemplify ways to help those who are neurodivergent succeed in school and clinical settings.

This is Part 4 of a four-part series. Current research on the socio-emotional, literacy, executive function, and narrative challenges in children with developmental language disorder (DLD), as well as the use of movement to accelerate storytelling skills, is described in this course. Evidence-based strategies to improve literacy and narrative skills through multi-modal cueing, purposeful play, and story re-enactment are presented.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),as well as a related theoretical framework and cultural considerations are discussed in this course. Populations likely to suffer from PTSD, cognitive-communication changes associated with PTSD and their impact on diagnosis and treatment are also described, and case examples are presented.